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International Mathematical Olympiad

Algebra Difficulty 8.4 Shortlist Find the answer

Let R\mathbb{R} be the set of real numbers. Determine all functions f:R→Rf: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} such that, for any real numbers xx and yy, f(f(x)f(y))+f(x+y)=f(xy). f(f(x)f(y)) + f(x+y) = f(xy).

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A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

Let R\mathbb{R} be the set of real numbers. We are tasked with finding all functions f:R→R f: \mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} such that for any real numbers x x and y y , the functional equation:

f(f(x)f(y))+f(x+y)=f(xy) f(f(x)f(y)) + f(x+y) = f(xy)

is satisfied.

### Step 1: Checking Simple Functions

#### Case 1: Constant Function

Let's first consider the constant function f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 . Substituting into the equation, we get:

f(f(x)f(y))+f(x+y)=f(0)+f(x+y)=0=f(xy) f(f(x)f(y)) + f(x+y) = f(0) + f(x+y) = 0 = f(xy)

Since f(xy)=0 f(xy) = 0 holds for all x,y x, y , it satisfies the functional equation. Thus, f(x)=0 f(x) = 0 is a solution.

### Step 2: Exploring Other Possibilities

To identify other forms of functions that satisfy the equation, let's impose a different assumption.

#### Case 2: Linear Solutions

Suppose f(x)=1−x f(x) = 1 - x . Substituting into the functional equation, we find:

f(f(x)f(y))=f((1−x)(1−y))=f(1−x−y+xy)=1−(1−x−y+xy)=x+y−xy f(f(x)f(y)) = f((1-x)(1-y)) = f(1 - x - y + xy) = 1 - (1 - x - y + xy) = x + y - xy

Substituting into the original equation:

f(f(x)f(y))+f(x+y)=(x+y−xy)+(1−(x+y))=1−xy=f(xy) f(f(x)f(y)) + f(x+y) = (x + y - xy) + (1 - (x+y)) = 1 - xy = f(xy)

Since this satisfies the functional equation for all x,y x, y , f(x)=1−x f(x) = 1 - x is indeed a solution.

#### Case 3: Alternate Linear Solutions

Consider f(x)=x−1 f(x) = x - 1 . Substituting into the functional equation:

f(f(x)f(y))=f((x−1)(y−1))=f(xy−x−y+1)=xy−x−y+1−1=xy−x−y f(f(x)f(y)) = f((x-1)(y-1)) = f(xy - x - y + 1) = xy - x - y + 1 - 1 = xy - x - y

The equation becomes:

f(f(x)f(y))+f(x+y)=(xy−x−y)+(x+y−1)=xy−1=f(xy) f(f(x)f(y)) + f(x+y) = (xy - x - y) + (x + y - 1) = xy - 1 = f(xy)

Therefore, f(x)=x−1 f(x) = x - 1 also satisfies the functional equation.

### Conclusion

The solutions to the functional equation are:

f(x)=0,f(x)=1−x,f(x)=x−1 f(x) = 0, \quad f(x) = 1 - x, \quad f(x) = x - 1

Thus, the complete set of solutions is:
f(x)=0, f(x)=1−x, f(x)=x−1 \boxed{f(x) = 0, \ f(x) = 1-x, \ f(x) = x-1}

These three functions are the only ones that satisfy the given functional equation for all x,y∈R x, y \in \mathbb{R} .

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